PREFACE

MEHEMMED ALI PASHA, the victorious pacificator of Egypt and Arabia, is
already renowned in the civilized world. Egypt, once the home of discord
and the headquarters of anarchy, under his administration has long
enjoyed peace and prosperity; is permeable in all directions, and
in perfect safety to the merchant and the traveler, and is yearly
progressing in wealth and improvement.[1]

The Viceroy has been particularly attentive to revive and extend those
commercial relations of Egypt with the surrounding countries, which once
rendered it the richest and most flourishing territory in the ancient
world.

A well chosen library of the best European books on the art military,
geography, astronomy, medicine, history, belles-lettres and the fine
arts has been purchased from Europe by the Viceroy and placed in
the palace of Ismael Pasha, where is also a school, at the Viceroy's
expense, for the instruction of the Mussulman youth in the Italian
language and the sciences of the Franks. To which establishments has
been lately added a printing press, for printing books in the Turkish,
Arabic and Persian languages, and a weekly newspaper in Arabic and
Italian. The library and the press are under the superintendence of
Osman Noureddin Effendi, a young Turk of great good sense, and who
is well versed in the literature of Europe, where he has resided for
several years, by order of the Viceroy, for his education: he is at
present engaged in translating into Turkish some works on tactics, for
the use of his countrymen.